Michelle Moore’s Tips for “Going Green” as a Photographer

Why we Picked Michelle? 

I approached Michelle about contributing a blog on this topic because she definitely stands out from the crowd.  She is very well known in the industry as a top photographer and you should check out Michelle’s Website.  Aside from her very obvious talent, she goes to extreme measure to be “Green Conscious”!  If you have ever gotten an email from her, you will notice a little note at the end:

“Be Green!  Please consider the environment before printing this message :)”

A Little About Michelle:

We’ve all heard the term “Being Green” and the big talk about Climate Change, and the things we can all do to help our planet.  Helping protect our environment is something I am extremely passionate about.  In fact,  had I not gotten accepted to the Photography program in college, my back-up plan was to pursue Oceanography and study Climate Change in relation to the oceans – but that’s a story for another time :)

Being “Green” does not have to seem like a huge overwhelming ordeal.  Every little thing helps, but it will only make a difference if we ALL put forth small changes.  Focus on what you, as an individual, can do in your life to make small changes.  I’ll be sharing what I do with my business, and some suggestions on ways you can start making changes to your business.

DELIVERY OF DIGITAL FILES

If you are a photographer who delivers digital files, there are a couple of ways to deliver these to your clients.  CDs and DVDs are horrible for the planet.  The chemical process to produce them is pretty terrible, so I try to cut down as much as possible in my use of discs.  Plus, burning a disc requires Packaging, Postage, and Gas for Travel.  All these things harm our environment, and are costly to your business.  Cut down on cost, and harmful CO2 by FTPing or emailing your digital files.  If you are delivering a Wedding, try to use a DVD instead of 5 CDs to cut back on the number of discs you are using.  Research re-usable delivery methods such as compact flash drives, iPods, etc.  If you MUST package and deliver discs, look into eco-friendly cases, and packaging, such as the packaging provided by Loktah.

DIGITAL MATERIALS & MARKETING

Another very easy and effective way to save paper is keeping as much of your marketing materials online!!  We used to print out pricing guides and MAIL them to all our clients – what a LOT of paper, postage and money!!  Eventually in an effort to keep things earth friendly we created a client only website that has our pricing, FAQs, details about your session, calendar, and much more.  There are still ways to create an amazing experience for your client- while saving paper and packing!  Plus, if you need to change your information or pricing, there is no wasted paper AND you save money by not having to print up a new set!

We also have our Contract & Model Release online, along with quick and easy links to pay online.  This cuts down on so much paper, PLUS makes our booking process quick and easy, allowing us to spend more time on creating our experience, rather than following a paper trail around in an effort to secure client bookings.

GREEN LABS

When we DO have to get things printed, we make sure to use a GREEN lab, such as ProDPI.  There are just some things we can’t quite remove from our process, and that is our actual prints, and thank you cards, etc.  I have used WHCC in the past – which is a great lab, but I stick with ProDPI because they are on the same coast as me.  Think about your lab in terms of location.  Less travel for your orders = saved gas!  Plus ProDPI has 100% wind-powered/recylced card stocks that I use for my business cards, and thank you notes.

We also choose to drop-ship – which is CRITICAL.  Once you trust your lab enough, I recommend using drop ship.  Orders go straight from your client to the lab.  This saves Packaging, Travel Time, YOUR time, and LOTS of money.  Think about how much money and materials you use with each order, and how much TIME you can save by not having to re-package everything!  Plus, ProDPI is really awesome about using minimal package (they even offer green executive packaging – which means your prints will look pretty for your clients!)

RE-USE/REDUCE/RECYCLE

When it’s all said and done, recycle what you can (we have an entire bin dedicated to recycling stuff!), reuse boxes and materials you get from labs, and gifts (I’ll even reuse tissue I get from the shopping mall) and reduce what you can.  Take it one step at a time and it’s completely possible!

OTHER QUICK THINGS YOU CAN DO TO HELP

Use your own coffee tumblers when you go to Starbucks, etc.  If you drink coffee 5 days a week – and switch to a REUSABLE mug you will save 5 trees.  Now think if 100 people did that every week, you would save 500 trees A WEEK.

Don’t buy water bottles.  Plastic NEVER fully goes away – ever.  Bring a container of water with you everywhere, and fill it up!  If you buy a water bottle every day for an average cost of $2 – think of saving $730 a YEAR by not buying – and all that plastic you’ll keep out of our oceans.
Bring your own shopping bag to the grocery store, the mall, etc.  NEVER accept plastic.

This is just a small start, what else can you do?  Pick one thing, and start making a change!  More importantly EDUCATE your peers, family and friends!

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